Jock Jams
by Scrapbastard
Summary: It's another disastrous day in Paris. Kim needs advice for his relationship with Ondine, but when he acts on the advice he is given, the consequences are far reaching and catastrophic! The Heroes of Paris will have to recruit help from across time and space to take down this new villain, but when it's all over, will they even remember it happened?


**Salut tout le monde! It's me, Scrap. This story gets a little off the chain at some places. I normally wouldn't break from canon as much as I did with this story, but in this case, it was total self indulgence. This was written for fun and to get a little wild and loose. Also because I think Kim and Ondine are great! Anyway, I appreciate your reading. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Screature," the voice in her head called. It was so loud, it tore her focus away from anything else. She had to listen. She was frightened of what might happen if she didn't. "You have them where you want them. Take their Miraculous and be done with it."

Her eyes darted forward to where the enemy made their stand. They were scarred and bloodied, but stood their ground nonetheless. The spotted one and the dark one. She didn't know them, but she hated them. It was on instinct.

"Don't make any sudden moves. If she opens her mouth, it's game over," the spotted one instructed her cohort. He didn't move a muscle. She watched them carefully.

"We can't keep this up forever, Ladybug," the pretty one coughed and spat some dust out. He was wobbling. Any minute now, it looked like he might fall. And then she would win.

* * *

What had started as a normal day in Paris had quickly become a nightmare. The most recent of Papillon's victims had proved to be a force of cataclysmic destruction. Ladybug and Chat Noir had sprung into action as the first building was falling and arrived on the scene just in time to watch the second one crumble into a pile of rubble.

What sounded like explosions from a distance were in fact more akin to sonic waves of force. A sound so loud and so deep, it shook like an earthquake and levelled buildings. It could collapse bridges and metro tunnels. And it was astoundingly centralized. They were targeted. Precise.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had spent most of this fight trying to evacuate bystanders from the area. Every time they did, buildings would come down around them, battering them with rubble and debris. It was when they had finally made sure the immediate area was empty that they found themselves face to face with their foe. She opened her mouth, and before the sound even hit them, they were blown back by a mighty, invisible force. By the time they heard the noise, they had been thrown through the walls of a nearby office building. At this point, Ladybug had gone off to fetch Carapace in the hopes that his protective abilities would be the key to defeating this new foe. And indeed, they did come in handy; when the three of them approached their enemy again, his protective shield saved them from harm, although they were still blown away.

His powers exhausted, Carapace had to retreat before his identity was revealed. This left just the two of them again.

"If we're going to beat her, we need to think outside the box," Chat Noir said, carefully stepping over a piece of exposed rebar. They were sneaking through the rubble, looking for some sign of their assailant's location. "Attacking head on is just going to get us killed."

"Outside the box," Ladybug groaned, feeling the ache in her muscles from where they had slammed against concrete. A piece of drywall fell, motivated by a sudden weight, and they both threw themselves to the ground, just in time to feel a surge of energy pass over them with a deafening boom.

"Outrageous!" Ladybug cursed as she ran away, leaping through the ruins of buildings and dodging through fallen structures to get away from their pursuer. Chat scampered across damaged streets on all fours, hoping to break line of sight. They threw themselves around a corner and stopped to catch their breath.

"Her power is way too strong," Chat panted, trying desperately to steady his breathing. He put a hand on the wall and straightened up, feeling a dull soreness in his spine. "We can't even get close."

"Lucky Charm." She whispered, desperately trying to avoid making too much commotion. Into her arms fell a little stuffed animal, no bigger than ten centimeters. She held it by the tale, looking over every detail. The mischievous grin it wore was strangely familiar. She looked around, trying to come up with a plan, but nothing came to her. This was not a tool, she concluded. It was a clue.

"I...have," she coughed, "an idea. But..."

"Continue..." he sighed.

"It's a bad one." She straightened up and put her hands on her sides. With a deep sigh, she put her hand on Chat's shoulder and smiled at him. "I'll be right back."

"Oh, come on!" Chat cried, watching her swing away. She was swinging to relative safety above the skyline when the next wave hit. Chat dove out of the way and scrambled toward shelter, covering his head from bits of falling rock and dust.

"Okay, just gotta dodge for a while. No problem," he muttered to himself, diving through the open door of an overturned car. He waited there, staring out the windshield to see if he could see her. No trace. "Come back soon, Ladybug."

"I'm not that worried," Kim said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He was standing on the Pont des Arts with Ondine, watching the chaos unfold from a respectable distance. Ondine was leaning over the railing, trying to get a closer look. She turned and squinted at him. "What? Ladybro will fix it."

"I hope so," Ondine noted, turning back toward the destruction. She was wearing a hoodie and shorts, which made her look a bit tomboyish, but Kim didn't mind at all. He thought she looked nice. She looked nice in a swimsuit, or in a hoodie, or in jeans and a t-shirt. She always looked nice. Plus, he appreciated the way the shorts accentuated certain aspects of her figure.

"This looks worse than usual," Ondine sighed. She was clutching the railing so tight, her knuckles were turning white. Akuma attacks always made her nervous, ever since she was akumatized herself. Under that dark influence, she nearly hurt the person she cared about the most. Just thinking of it made her shiver.

"Hey, remember the time you were akumatized and flooded all of Paris?" Kim chirped. She winced and turned to him, frowning.

"No, Kim, we've been over this. I don't remember, and I don't want to remember." She squeezed her arm and looked down at her feet, ashamed. Her cheeks flushed with redness. "I... I almost hurt a lot of people. I almost hurt you."

"Hey, hey," Kim began, taking a step toward her. She looked up and saw his goofy, smiling face. It put her slightly at ease. "It's not your fault. You were the victim! Besides, you'd never hurt me. I know that."

She returned his smile and took a step closer to him, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. He stood there, letting it happen, but unsure how to respond. Did he hug her? Hold her? What was she comfortable with? And, more pressing to him, what was he comfortable with?

Kim was freed from this conundrum by a loud sound, which tore Ondine's attention away from him. The two of them raced back to the railing, where they could easily observe another building crumbling in the distance. Ondine shook, but said nothing. What could she say?

Kim took his hands off his pockets and put them in his jacket pocket. Even he was starting to feel uneasy. As he reached into his pocket, he felt something that hadn't been there before. Pulling it out, he found a note, written on ordinary lined paper. He unfolded it.

"Come to the alley at the end of the bridge. Paris needs King Monkey."

The note was signed not with a name, but with a circle with several dots inside it. Kim couldn't keep a smile from spreading across his face. His heart started to beat faster as he looked around. Ondine was still transfixed on the devastation in the distance. He took a step back.

"Hey, uh..." he muttered, wracking his brain for an excuse. "I better call my mom. Let her know I'm okay. You wait here."

Ondine turned to him, concerned. "Okay. You don't want me to come with you?"

"No, I just wanna go over where it's quiet," Kim lied. He felt a sting in his chest with each falsehood uttered. He found himself struggling to maintain eye contact with her where before, it was effortless. "But I don't want us to lose our spot. Make sure no one muscles in and steals the view, cool?"

"Yeah. Cool. Just be back soon, okay?" Ondine smiled at him. He returned it, without making any promises. He walked away, pushing through the crowd. Then he started jogging. Then running. The bridge was his track, and the alleyway was his finish line.

When he arrived, Ladybug was sitting on a trash bin, leg dangling over the side, looking a little worse for wear. She turned to him with a smile. He was still jogging in place, too excited to sit still.

"Lê Chiên Kim!" Ladybug declared with a smile. Kim looked at her, a little concerned.

"First, Ladybro, you look like you got your butt kicked. Second, my bros call me Kim."

"I did get my butt kicked," she lamented, hopping off the trash bin and approaching him. "That's why I'm here. I need your help. Bro."

"Happy to help out a bro, but—"

"Okay, we can stop with the 'bro' thing now," Ladybug snapped.

"Right. Happy to help, but we have to move fast, because I kind of have someone waiting back on the Pont."

"Oh, your girlfriend? She seems nice," Ladybug commented, allowing herself to get temporarily distracted. She always relished getting to talk to her classmates when she was behind the mask. They were always slightly different. Slightly more honest or dishonest. It was interesting.

"Oh! Yeah, she's uh... She's really cool. I mean, I dunno about girlfriend," he said, scratching the back of his head. His cheeks flushed and he looked down at his feet, slightly embarrassed. "We uh... Haven't used those words yet."

"Really?" Ladybug mused, cocking an eyebrow. She stifled a smile. This was interesting. "Haven't you two been on dates?

"I... guess. Yeah, we've gone out together. To places." He fumbled with his words, acting uncharacteristically nervous. He cleared his throat and continued. "But I've gone to places with my bros, you know? Isn't it supposed to feel like... super different?"

"Uh, well..." Ladybug stammered. She tried to offer some kind of comforting advice, but she had never actually been on a date herself. She always knew—or thought she knew—what they were supposed to be like, but what if she was wrong? What if she went out with the person she liked and didn't feel what she expected? Now she was starting to feel the same doubt that Kim was displaying. "Let's continue this conversation later. We have work to do."

She produced a small mahogany box and presented it to him. It was one he had seen before, though never in her hands. He took it and opened it to reveal a familiar circlet, the sight of which brought a smile to his face.

"Kim, I'm granting you the power to—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Kim interrupted. The hero scowled at him. He snatched the circlet from out of the box and placed it gingerly on his head. Xuppu, the Kwami of Jubilation, burst out of it with a gasp.

"You have any idea how cramped it is locked up in that box?" the kwami spat. He looked around, taking in the surroundings, getting his bearings. He stared at Kim, who stared back. "What's with you, nitwit? You look pale. You kids spend all day inside on your computers. That's the problem."

"Stop monkeying around, Xuppu," Kim joked. Xuppu's tail shot straight out and he did his best to look wounded.

"Monkeying around? Can you believe that, Ladybug?" he cried, flying around to land on her head. "How original. How biting. Never heard that one before. Why'd I have to get paired up with such a clever nitwit?"

"Xuppu, please. Stop..." Ladybug exhaled, "...being so Xuppu."

"Ah, he can't help it!" Kim said, coming to Xuppu's defense. He held up his hand and the kwami hopped on. "Not his fault he was born a Xuppu."

"You know, nitwit, I think I like you," Xuppu sneered sarcastically. Kim snickered.

"Are you two ready yet?" Ladybug said, impatient and aggravated. They grinned and both gave her a thumbs up.

"Xuppu, Party Time!"

The two heroes leapt off of rooftops and over streets toward the skirmish in the distance. It was the first time King Monkey had had to travel any distance in the city, let alone keep up with another hero, but he found it strangely easy. Like a quadrupedal primate, he easily bounded between rooftops and swung off flagpoles. He found it more natural to scamper about on all fours than to run like he normally did. He was extremely agile, able to stand, and even walk on his hands. It was like having two sets of legs. And it felt incredible.

King Monkey cheered and whooped as he sprung off a chimney and onto a nearby railing. Ladybug couldn't help but smile when she heard how much fun he was having. It was easy for her to forget that being a superhero really was a lot of fun. She had been doing it long enough that it had become more like work. Was she not enjoying herself enough? She pondered this as she got Chat Noir on the phone.

"I'm on the way!" she assured. He sounded exhausted on the other line.

"Tell me you have some kind of secret weapon," he begged, in almost a whisper. "Is... someone throwing a party nearby?"

"Oh, that? Uh..." She swung past King Monkey as he did a flip off of someone's rooftop barbecue. "That's King Monkey."

"King Monkey? That clown is your secret weapon?" Chat Noir whined, exasperated. "What's he going to do, dance the problem away?"

"Hey, he's... uh... He's fun," Ladybug rebuffed. "Who knows, he could be just what we need."

"Just get here soon," Chat Noir moaned as the call ended. Ladybug sighed. She hoped she was right about him.

She had gone a bit farther when she realized that King Monkey was no longer with her. Turning back, she saw he was on street level, helping an older woman carry her groceries up the stoop of her house. When he was done, he shook her hand and gratefully received a piece of hard candy as payment. Ladybug couldn't help but smile, just for a moment. He was a good guy. Then she remembered the danger they had left Chat in and swung down to fetch him.

"Come on, hero. Work to do," she reprimanded, pulling on his arm.

"Oh, right. Sorry, ma'am. Duty calls!" he said, smiling at the woman as he leapt away with Ladybug. "That lady totally gave me a Werther's Original, dude," he said with palpable excitement as they traveled across the city skyline. "I didn't think they still made these."

"King Monkey, I appreciate you winning over hearts and minds, but try to focus, okay, buddy?" Ladybug groaned, not turning to face him.

"Sorry, Ladybro. It's only my second time being a superhero. I just don't want it to be over too soon."

"I get it, but uh... Priorities, okay?" She was sympathetic. She could be Ladybug whenever she wanted. Swing through the streets, earning adulation wherever she went, feeling the surge of adrenaline that came with fighting villains. But the others didn't have it so lucky. She wouldn't be able to bear having to say goodbye to Tikki every time she detransformed. "I promise, it won't be the last time you're a superhero."

They both landed in the epicenter of the destruction that Screature had caused. Ducking behind a pile of debris, they joined Chat Noir, who was keeping a low profile, trying to watch for their enemy.

"What's up, bro?" King Monkey asked, squatting next to Chat Noir. He grinned at Chat, who looked up at him through tired eyes. "What are we dealing with?"

"She's a villain who explodes things with her voice," Chat muttered, resting his head on his knees. Ladybug sympathetically patted his head.

"Poor Kitty has been here, distracting her while I was picking you up," Ladybug explained, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. He winced. That spot was still tender. "He's earned a rest."

Together, they peered out from behind the rubble, watching for signs of movement. There, in the street ahead of them, was their target. A small girl, not taller than four feet, wearing a dress adorned with bows. She scampered around on all fours, long hair spiking up across her back like a cat's.

"There she is," Ladybug whispered. She didn't take her eyes off her as they spoke. "She's incredibly dangerous. I think her akuma is in her pendant, so if we can get our hands on it, we can beat her."

"Her? That's just a kid," King Monkey pointed out. He didn't seem concerned at all, despite all the destruction around them. He picked a piece of dust off his coat and sighed, resting his head on his hands. "She's probably just scared."

"Don't underestimate her just because she's a child," Ladybug said, ducking back behind the rubble. "Even a child can be extremely malicious when they're akumatized. We need a plan to— King Monkey?"

She looked around, but he was gone. She stood and leaned over the pile of debris that she had been looking over to see him skipping toward their enemy. She was aghast, watching in horror as King Monkey did a backflip and landed in a split. "Ta-da!"

Screature backed away slowly, getting ready to screech. He stood up and held out a hand.

"Hey, hey, no need for that. I'm not gonna hurt you!" He dug around in his jacket pocket and produced the candy he received earlier. "You want a piece of candy?"

She looked at the hard candy and then back at him, but didn't make a move.

"No? More for me, then," he said. Ladybug had begun to slowly make her way over to them, careful to stay out of sight.

"I'm King Monkey. What's your name?" he asked. She didn't speak. She opened her mouth, which caused Ladybug to flinch and shield herself, but nothing came out of it. She exhaled.

"Not sayin', huh?" He sat down on the ground in front of her, smiling gently. "That's okay. Wanna see something cool?"

He took his leg in his hands and stretched it upward toward his face. "I can put my big toe in my ear."

He did so.

She smiled. Ladybug's eyes widened, watching this odd display. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working. Screature scampered over to him and held out a hand. He dropped the candy into it. She scurried away to eat it. While she was facing away, King Monkey turned to Ladybug, toe still firmly lodged in his ear, and gave her two thumbs up. She stared at him, amazed.

"Okay, now, watch this!" King Monkey laughed, pulling a euro out from behind her ear, palming it, and making it 'disappear.' Screature smiled and clapped her hands. "Now you're gonna love this. Uproar!"

He stood up, producing a small yellow object from thin air, presenting it like a magic trick. The girl looked astounded, rose to her feet and held out her hands to grab it from him.

"You want this?" King Monkey asked, grinning knowingly. She made a grabbing motion for it.

"You sure you want it?"

She jumped up and down impatiently.

"Okay, here you go."

He held it out and she snatched it out of his hands, examining it. It was a banana. A small, rubber fruit, about the size of a normal one. She looked at it, a little confused, then looked up at him. He was grinning, squatting down to her eye level.

"Now, for my next trick, I'll need to see your necklace," he said, reaching for the pendant. She took a step back, wrapping her hand around it protectively.

"Hey, it's okay! I promise, I'll give it right back!" he insisted, approaching her. She opened her mouth to scream, but no wave was produced. When she screamed, beautiful music came out instead. She tried again, and bubbles came out of her mouth. Kim laughed.

"Looks like you have some tricks of your own!" he said. Ladybug approached the both of them, and in one swift motion, plucked the necklace off of her neck, threw it to the ground, and stomped it.

In an instant, Screature was enveloped in a black chrysalis and returned to her normal self. She was just a young girl, no older than ten. She looked around, confused, and perhaps a little scared.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked, squatting down in front of her. She wasn't terribly older than the girl Ladybug regularly babysat.

"Ladybug?" she whispered, in a soft, gentle voice that drifted lazily through the air. Ladybug helped her to her feet and King Monkey waved at her with a goofy grin which she did not return. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, no, everything is okay now," the hero assured. Chat Noir had hobbled over to join them, and the three debriefed. Ladybug casually tossed the monkey plush in the air and her powers fixed the decimated city block. Even Chat Noir's wounds began to heal. Everything was as it should be.

"You know," Chat Noir mused, after having seen the girl to safety, "I underestimated you, King Monkey. I didn't think you were the right pick."

"Shoulda known. I mean, they don't call me King for nothin'," he gloated, smugly puffing out his chest. "I can do like... 20 one-handed push-ups."

"That's..." Chat Noir began.

"That doesn't seem related," Ladybug finished for him.

"No, but I'm impressed all the same," Chat admitted. The two men shook hands, having finally gotten a chance to formally meet for the first time. The three heroes chatted briefly before the realization hit Ladybug that they would have to part ways shortly.

"Come on, Monkey. We have to get you back to your date," she said. King Monkey frowned.

"Before we do, can I ask you two something?" he said, his voice getting softer, shyer.

"What's up?" Chat Noir asked. King Monkey fiddled with his tail nervously.

"You two are a couple, right?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Well, kind of," Chat sighed, shrugging. Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder.

"Chat. Listen. Chat? Listen to me now," she insisted, bringing her face closer to his. She was whispering. "Not even kind of."

"So what I'm hearing is, you kind of are a couple," King Monkey observed. They stared at him, at a loss. He rubbed his chin. "My question is, how do you know what you're supposed to do when you're a couple?"

They both looked at him. He was standing there, wearing a genuinely concerned expression, still holding his tail. They could tell he was being earnest, which was unusual for him. The jokey, grinning King Monkey from before seemed to have been a facade, a mask he was wearing to look stronger than he really was.

"What do you mean?" Chat asked, dropping his usual mischievous tone. King Monkey scratched his nose and distorted his expression, searching for words.

"Like, how do you know how you're supposed to act with your... you know."

"Your hands?"

"What? No! Your... person! Your date! How is anyone supposed to know what you're supposed to like... do, or feel, or say, when you are dating someone?" He waved his arms and made grand, exaggerated gestures to illustrate his point, which only served to make him seem stranger to his two companions. "Sorry..." he stuttered, averting his gaze. "I just... I like this girl and she likes me, and we've hung out, but... what does that make us, you know?"

"Buddy, buddy," Chat Noir said, casually placing a hand on his shoulder, "you gotta relax. Just do what comes naturally."

King Monkey thought about this in silence for a moment. It didn't sit right with him. He didn't know what came naturally, and if what came naturally was really right to do. How could he do what came naturally if nothing felt natural? No, he wasn't satisfied with this. He wanted to ask for elaboration, but his attention was stolen by Ladybug.

"King, you're about to detransform," she pointed out. It was true, his circlet had just started beeping. "As am I. Come on, let's get you back. Chat, can you take care of things here?"

"Of course, milady." Chat Noir grinned, bowing dramatically. She thanked him and they did their usual parting fistbump, which King Monkey half-heartedly joined. Together, the two heroes departed back toward the Pont des Arts, traveling in silence.

When they landed in the alleyway they departed from, King Monkey changed back into Kim, carefully handing his Miraculous back to Ladybug for safekeeping.

"Thanks for your help today, Kim. We couldn't have done it without you." Ladybug whipped her yoyo around a chimney, getting ready to launch herself out of the alleyway.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks," Kim replied, turning to return to the bridge. Ladybug could see he was a bit disheartened. Clearly, he had more questions now than when he left with them earlier that day. She called out to him, and he turned around, looking at her expectantly.

She didn't know exactly what to say. She wasn't necessarily better at this than he was. She had her own slew of problems in her love life, and really wasn't suited to giving anyone advice. Still, she had to say something.

"Kim, you know who you should ask? Ondine," she began. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, clearly not following. "You like her, she likes you, just... ask her. Ask her about your relationship. Tell her about your feelings. Establish boundaries!"

"Just... talk to her about it?" he asked, as if it was more preposterous than she was making it out to be. "That's not weird?"

"Kim. How are you going to date someone and never talk to them about it?"

Kim stood there, silent, contemplative, for what must have seemed like hours.

"So, just, like... talk to her about it?"

"Kim, yes."

"That works?"

"Kim. Yes." She nodded emphatically, wide-eyed and exhausted. "Honesty is the best policy. If you're honest with your feelings, then it'll just work out. Trust me!"

"Huh." He put his hands behind his head. "I guess you're the expert. Okay, I'll try."

"Great! Yeah, I'm super... qualified for this." She looked up to where her yoyo was tethered to the roof and gave a sharp tug. "Gotta go. Good luck!"

With that, she propelled herself upward through the air and over the rooftop, waving at him. He waved goodbye and stood there for a moment, thinking over her advice. He did a few stretches, jogged in place for a moment, and took a few deep breaths. Time to go.

He whipped around and started to run back toward the bridge, pressing through crowds of people on their way out, working back to where he had left Ondine. People were starting to leave the bridge in droves now that the action had ended. Plenty of tourists were crossing it, trying to get to the Louvre. One guy was looking for a spot to hang a padlock, and Kim could observe a cop marching over to reprimand him. None of these people were the one he was searching for. Had she gotten impatient and left? Had he left her waiting too long? Well, it wouldn't be the first time he blew his chances with a girl he liked on the Pont des Arts.

Finally, he found her. She was standing against the railing, fiddling with her phone. He smiled and started walking over when his phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he found it was her, calling him.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Kim?"

"Hey, Ondine!"

"Where are you?"

"Pont des Arts!"

"What?"

"Look like... up, and slightly right."

...

"Other right. My right."

"I don't know which right is your right if—Oh!"

"Yeah!" He waved, walking over to lean on the railing next to her. Neither of them hung up their phones. "Sorry I left you waiting so long."

"Let's uh... talk about it in person, not over the phone," Ondine said, looking him in the eye. She looked more concerned than angry or sad, which was a huge relief to him. Still, he was nervous.

"Okay, I'm hanging up then," he said, lowering his phone. She nodded and packed her phone away in her backpack. Kim spread his arms out for a hug, but she didn't give him one. She just took a step forward without making eye contact.

"Where were you?" Ondine quietly muttered, still avoiding eye contact. Her fist was balled up by her side, which reflexively made Kim swallow. "I was like... so worried, Kim!"

"Hey, I'm sorry! I was just... I called my mom, and..." he began, trying to come up with some believable lie that would cover his long absence. "There was a crowd, and... I got lost?"

She looked him in the eye and he smiled innocently, but couldn't return her eye contact. She crossed her arms and leaned in, causing him to pivot backwards.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I..." He felt a sinking feeling in his chest, like her gaze was shooting right through him and out the other side. It was dizzying how bad this made him feel. "No. No, I didn't call my mom. I was... This sucks, Ondine."

"Kim?" She whispered, suddenly very concerned. He looked out over the river.

"Look, we got a lot to talk about, Ondine. But I don't want to... begin building on a lie, you know?" Ondine leaned on the railing next to him, keeping a worried eye on him. He didn't look at her.

"O-Okay..." She murmured, fearing the worst.

"Can I have a piece of paper?" He asked her. She dug through her bag silently and pulled one out, handing it to him with a pen. He scrawled something down hastily, folded it up as many times as he could, and stuffed it into his bracelet, clicking it shut. He held it out to her.

"This is where we've always put secrets. This is my secret. And you have to read it, and just trust that I would not make this up."

She took it silently, nodding at him. Visibly shaking, she clicked the bracelet open and took the paper out, handing the accessory back to him. She unfolded the note and read it. She stared at it for a long time, not saying anything, before looking up at him.

"Kim, this doesn't make any sense."

Kim shrugged. She read the note again and looked up at him.

"Can you prove that this is true?"

"No," Kim admitted. "But I've never put anything false in that bracelet, and you know that."

"Yeah, but that was just a game!" She shook the note in her hand to emphasize her words. "This is way more serious than that."

"I know it's unbelievable. I hardly believe it myself. But it's the truth."

She looked him straight in the eyes, and he didn't falter. He stared right back at her.

"All I'm asking," he implored, "is for you to ask yourself whether or not I would lie to you."

"I..." she began, looking between the note and his face. She folded it and slipped it into the pocket of her shorts. "We'll get to that. I don't know yet. What else did you have to say."

"Come on." He walked to a nearby bench and sat down, patting the seat next to him. Together, they could observe the Seine, drifting lazily outward and beyond to the horizon. Paris was beautiful, and it was so rare that Kim took the time to really appreciate that. He just sat there, taking in the view for a moment.

"Ondine, I really like you," he began.

"I really like you too," she replied. "But...?"

"No buts. I just really like you."

She smiled. That was a relief. She looked out over the Seine and exhaled for the first time in what felt like forever.

"I've never been," he paused, searching for the right term. Many words cycled through his brain before he landed on the right one. He'd never been attractive? No, that's not right. Never been datable? That's just another lie, he was extremely datable. Romantic? That works. "Romantic. You know what I mean? Like, I've had crushes on people, but I've never been... in a relationship with anyone."

"That's okay!" she reassured, placing a hand on his arm when she saw he was blushing. He smiled at her. "I haven't either."

"Well, then..." he began, twiddling with his thumbs. He considered putting his hand on hers, but again, was that an okay thing to do? "We should talk about it, right? Ladybug said I should talk to you about this stuff."

"You got relationship advice from Ladybug? Like... the hero of Paris?" She leaned back, eyes wide. He laughed quietly.

"Yeah. And Chat Noir, but his advice sucked."

"What did he say?"

"Just to do what comes naturally."

"That's what I've been doing! And just hoping that whatever I do is okay with you!"

"See!" He pointed a finger at her. "That's my problem! What if I do something wrong and upset you? Or what if I'm not doing something I should be doing? Or..."

"Or what if you change your mind?" Ondine finished for him. He sat there with his mouth open for a moment. Yeah, that too. He closed it and slumped forward, elbows on his knees.

"So that's why I think we should just... talk about it. What are we? Am I your boyfriend?"

"Would you," she hesitated, taking her hand off him and onto her cheek to cover the fact that she was blushing. She spoke in a hushed tone, "would you like to be my boyfriend?"

"Heck yeah, I wanna be your boyfriend!" Kim yelled. Several people turned and stared, then applauded. He grinned, cheeks flushed with red, and turned back to her.

"Well, now all of Paris knows." Ondine laughed. He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. They sat in silence for a while, content.

"So going forward, you'll let me know if I do anything to hurt you, or something like that?" Ondine asked out of the blue. He smiled at her.

"Are you kidding me? You see these muscles?" He flexed through his hoodie. "You couldn't hurt me if you wanted to."

"Kim." Ondine stared at him, unimpressed.

"I mean, yes. Yeah, I will. And you can do the same."

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know why I thought that would be hard," Kim sighed, resting his head against hers. "Should have just spoken to you in the first place."

"You can talk to me about whatever, Kim," she said, her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. "No judgement. I trust you."

"Yeah? Even about the uh..." he paused, looking around to see if anyone was listening. "Even about the thing? The note?"

"Even about the note thing, yes," she assured. "Now that I know about that, though, I have like, a million questions."

He stood up, offering a hand to help her to her feet. She took his hand and rose up off the bench, not letting go. She laced her fingers between his and they began to walk together. "André is nearby. How about I buy you an ice cream and we can talk about it, babe?"

She winced. "Oof. Don't like 'babe.' 'Babe' is off limits."

"Got it. Thanks for letting me know!"

Together, hand in hand, they left the Pont des Arts, feeling closer than they had ever been.

* * *

They had scarcely reached the end of the bridge, hand in hand, filled with a new found appreciation for each other, when something utterly unexpected happened. And truly, how could they expect it? It was less unexpected, and more unexpectable. Before them, something appeared, but their minds found it difficult to discern the exact nature of the thing. It was round, and floating in front of them. It was almost like a hole in the air, with edges of a pale green color. Peering through the hole, where one would expect to see the rest of the bridge, and then the Louvre, was instead an entirely different part of Paris, and a man. He had dark skin and a long, black leather trench coat. His dreadlocks were green, a similar green to the edges of the hole they were looking through, and tied together in a long braid. On his wrist, and running up his forearm, he was wearing some kind of device, which was completely foreign to the teens and looked very complex. His eyes were obscured by small, dark, rounded glasses. He stepped through the portal, panic written across his face.

"Mini-Mark was right. You two are here," he said, panting. The portal closed behind him, leaving the three of them standing on the bridge over the Seine. Kim and Ondine stared, horrified and confused. Still holding each other's hand, now out of fear more than love. The man sized them up and sighed.

"Okay, what did you do?" he asked, in an accusatory tone that only served to make the two more confused. The man waited for a response, but didn't get one. He sighed again, crossing his arms. "Look, I don't have a ton of time here, okay? So just tell me what's up, Kim."

"You know me?" Kim answered. He looked at Ondine, who looked back at him, shrugging. The man sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Yo, I understand you are confused, but there's really no time, so, here's the thing: my name is Pegasus, I'm from the future, I'm here to help you, and today, you—Kim—did something with you—Ondine—that you shouldn't have done," the man explained, speaking very quickly. The two kids in front of him did not respond, simply staring.

"You're from the future?" Ondine questioned, incredulous, once she had finally found her words. "Time travel? That's not possible."

The man stared at her, brow furrowed in frustration. "Did I not just step through a portal at you? You live in this city in this time, and you're actually questioning the unexplained?"

Ondine thought about this. At least once a week, strange, supernatural things happen in the city that defy explanation and can only be understood as magic. Superheroes, supervillains—it was all unlike anything that aligned with modern scientific understanding. Perhaps time travel was just another of those magical phenomena that was beyond her current understanding. Kim had a similar, though much simpler, train of thought that led him to this conclusion; he thought time travel was cool.

"Okay, so you're a superhero who can travel through time?" Ondine continued. She was, in general, much more inquisitive than her boyfriend. Kim was laid back and took things at face value. Ondine read more deeply into things, thought things through, asked more questions. The man shook his head.

"I'm a superhero who can teleport. There's a different superhero who can travel through time, and she brought me here, but she couldn't stay," Pegasus explained. "Temporal displacement is one of the few things I don't have a total understanding of, but according to her, there's a lot of weird rules."

Ondine nodded, accepting that she would have to live with the very limited understanding that she had now. Kim nodded, wondering where he could get a cool trench coat like Pegasus's.

"Anyway, today you acted in a way that was contrary to the expected behavior dictated by the flow of time, which has resulted in a change to present circumstances—my present, not yours—that has had catastrophic results. I have been sent back to remedy this problem and set the flow of time back in the proper direction," Pegasus explained, acting as though what he said was simple to understand. When he saw their blank expressions, however, he sighed. Placing a hand on both of their shoulders, he looked them in the eye.

"Today, one of you did something that you shouldn't have. It was probably spur of the moment, and you didn't think you were going to, but you did anyway," he said, slowly. Kim and Ondine looked at eachother, concerned. "Whatever you did broke the future, and now I have been sent by a time cop named Bunnyx to fix it."

"I mean, that's cool," Kim began, relaxed, "but I didn't do anything wrong or bad."

"It doesn't have to be bad, necessarily, it just has to be something you shouldn't have done. That you did do. Very suddenly."

"Kim," Ondine whispered, nudging him with an elbow. She had Kim's bracelet in her hand, and pointed to it, swallowing. Kim looked down at it and then back at Pegasus, who was eying the bracelet as well.

"Oh dang, bro, I totally did that," Kim whispered, inhaling sharply. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at Pegasus, who was peering over his glasses, a serious expression painted across his face. "I janked the time zone, bro."

"You janked it up good, Kim," Pegasus groaned. He held out his hand for Ondine to place the bracelet in, but she hesitated.

"But the thing is, in this bracelet, there's a secret no one can know," Ondine explained, gripping the object tightly. Pegasus rolled his eyes.

"I'm from the future, Ondine," he reminded her. Ondine looked to Kim for his confirmation.

"It's okay Ondine. This guy, there's something about him. I trust him," Kim said, smiling at Pegasus, who couldn't help but smile back. They were best friends, after all, even if only one of them knew it. "He seems like a total bro."

Ondine inhaled and nodded. She handed the bracelet to Pegasus, who opened it with a click. He took the note inside in his hands and read it despite Kim's scrawled chicken scratch. When he was done, he sighed loudly, opened a small portal, and threw the note in. Ondine and Kim watched in horror as the note flew through the hole and in to what appeared to be a lake of magma. They looked back at Pegasus, and he was not amused.

"What did you do?" Ondine gasped. Pegasus closed the portal and adjusted his glasses.

"I threw that note into a volcano so no one could ever read it again. Kim! You nitwit!" Pegasus yelled, grabbing the boy by the shoulders. "Your identity is supposed to be your most carefully guarded secret! It is imperative that you never tell another person! Ondine is not to know that you are King Monkey!"

While he was speaking he shook Kim back and forth, to which he responded by making an ugly noise. Ondine tried to pull the man off, but to no avail.

"I didn't want to lie to Ondine!" Kim explained, dizzy. Pegasus let go of the boy and sighed. He looked at the both of them, sympathetically. They're so young, and at this point in time, neither of them have any idea what they're doing. He couldn't be angry at them, they were just kids, trying to figure out their relationship. If only they knew where that relationship would take them.

"Okay, okay. I get it," Pegasus resigned. The exact same thing had happened in his timeline, almost the exact same way. It just happened a little later on, when it was safer and better to do so. It didn't matter where in time Kim was—his actions were generally predictable. "I apologize for yelling."

"No problem, bro, I get it," Kim said, steadying himself on Ondine's arm. He shook the dizziness away and stood there, still holding her arm. After a moment, he looked at her. "You got crazy firm biceps."

"I swim a lot, Kim. Please try to focus," Ondine said, concerned but smiling gently. "So, Pegasus, what can we do to help?"

"Well, nothing really." Pegasus sighed, crossing his arms. "Bunnyx didn't send me far enough back, I've got to go even further back and stop Kim from telling—"

There was a whoop and a holler that grabbed their attention. All three of them looked up in time to see a large object flying toward them like a comet, howling with delight.

"Oh no," was all the hero was able to get out before the object slammed into him, sending him flying into the Seine. Kim and Ondine were left agast, staring up at the hulking beast before them. It was large and black, except for a pair of glowing silver eyes and a scarlet emblem on its back that resembled King Monkey's. Triumphantly, it pounded its chest, letting out a shout of delight before turning to face them.

It was as tall as the both of them and equally wide, but it was a man, wearing a white and red mask that covered most of its face, the most vibrantly colored item of its entire ensemble. It had a similar outfit to King Monkey, tail and all, but darker and sharper. It lowered itself to eye level with the teens and smiled.

"Bro!" its voice erupted, impossibly deep and loud like the grinding of tectonic plates. Excitedly it hopped up and down, making noises like an amused ape. "Look at you! You're tiny! This is so cool."

"I'm not tiny! I'm the biggest kid in my class!" Kim corrected him. The creature laughed and clapped its hands, doing a jovial sort of dance. "Ondine says I have a big heart!"

The creature paused and looked down at the girl, who was looking up at him, frightened. He brought himself low and getting close to her face, and snorted, blowing her hair back. "She's wrong."

Ondine reached back and slapped the creature across the face, much to Kim's astonishment, causing it to reel back a few steps. It howled angrily and pounded its fists on the ground. Rearing back, it readied itself to take a swing at the both of them, when suddenly, a hole opened up above it. Torrential amounts of water came flooding through the hole, as well as several large catfish and a few invasive species of crayfish. Kim and Ondine took this opportunity to turn tail and run as fast as they could from the waterlogged monster, as Pegasus flew through the hole, landing with the sole of his boot on its head. As soon as he was through, the hole closed up, and Pegasus leapt away, running along the bridge after his two young companions.

"That was totally awesome, Ondine!" Kim yelled, sprinting along the Pont des Arts. Ondine smiled and gave him a thumbs up, but kept on running, as the creature they had left behind had just made an extremely angry noise. Eventually, Pegasus caught up with them, easily done with the help of his enhanced speed.

"What is that thing?" Ondine asked him between labored breaths. They reached the edge of the bridge and turned down a tight alleyway in an attempt to lose the beast. Ondine and Pegasus were panicked and terrified, but Kim seemed to be having fun.

"That thing is called Mandrillus!" Pegasus yelled as they were running. Mandrillus leapt along after them, slamming onto hoods of cars and bringing down brick walls to catch them, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. "And it is quite ornery."

"I can see that!" Ondine screeched as a thrown car flew over their heads and landed in the road ahead of them. They took a sharp turn and ducked into a restaurant, leaving out the back door. Kim laughed, leaping over a trash can and yelling 'parkour' as loud as he could.

"Monkey Man is pissed!" Kim commented, still smiling widely. They ducked down an alleyway and took a moment to catch their breath. All seemed quiet for the moment, and Pegasus cautiously peered out into the street. With no confidence, he tried to open a portal, but with no success. He swore quietly and rejoined the others.

"He's still nearby. I can't teleport," he whispered. Ondine and Kim looked at each other, distressed.

"Why not?" Ondine hissed lowly. The man stood up, took a deep breath, and doubled back over, hands on his knees. He was somehow more winded than either of the teens despite his enhanced endurance. He slapped his knee once and coughed, then looked up at her.

"It's Mandrillus. He's like a walking antenna, outputting a frequency that causes severe…"

His allies squinted at him.

"He messes up your powers when you're close to him," Pegasus sighed. He leaned against a wall, staring at the floor with arms folded.

"He messes up superpowers?" Kim asked, biting his lower lip. Pegasus nodded and tried to open another portal, once again failing. Kim shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away from them, exhaling deeply.

"Why is he here, though?" Pegasus mused aloud. "I left him back in the future—he couldn't follow me here, unless he got here the same way I did, but…"

"You said he messes up powers, right?" Ondine asked. She was standing between the two, fiddling nervously with her bag. Without looking up, at either of them, she continued. "Maybe it messed with the time cop's powers and like, she accidentally sent him here with you?"

"It seems unlikely," Pegasus began. "I mean, it's possible, of course. My understanding of time travel is limited, so it could have happened, but Bunnyx is pretty much a timelord."

Again, his words were met with a blank stare.

"That's a reference to Doctor Who."

Again, no response.

"It's a long-running British science fiction television program about—"

"Okay, bro, stop nerding out for a second and tell me something," Kim said, turning around. His face betrayed the frustration he was feeling. Ondine put a hand on his arm to comfort him, though she didn't know what he was feeling. "Is this Mandorilla guy—"

He was interrupted by a raucous boom as Mandrillus landed on the roof above them. Smiling, he looked down at them with a wild expression on his face.

"There you are! You can run, but you can't hide, bro!" he taunted, trying to squeeze into the alley from above. Ondine took Kim's hand and ran from the alleyway out into the street, and Pegasus quickly followed. Once more, the chase was on.

"Okay, this is going much worse than I had anticipated," Pegasus screeched as they were pursued through the streets of Paris. "We need help."

"Ladybro can help!" Kim called from slightly further ahead as several squad cars headed toward their aggressor swerved to avoid them. Pegasus smiled as they turned a corner.

"Excellent idea, Kim!" Pegasus exclaimed. "Mini-Mark, what is Ladybug's most probable location given the date?"

The device on his wrist lit up, and several moments later, flashed. A tiny, electronic voice chimed through a speaker. Kim and Ondine would have been impressed, had they not at that moment been in mortal peril.

"Ladybug is on the roof above you, Pegasus. Use your eyes next time," it replied, sarcastically. Pegasus came to a halt and spun around, looking up. Sure enough, the heroes of Paris were above them, poised to fight. He breathed a sigh of relief, as their very presence was enough to get Mandrillus to stop coming for them. It was weird to see them the way that they were. It's true, he was told to expect it, but he wasn't prepared for how weird the feeling of it would be.

"Busy day, huh, Milady?" Chat Noir cooed. Ladybug sighed and rolled her eyes.

"No rest for the righteous, Chat," she replied.

"Oh man! Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Mandrillus called from the street below. Slamming his palms on the ground, he leapt up on top of the building they were on, nearly bringing the structure down from the impact. The two heroes struggled to keep their footing as Mandrillus approached them. "Look at you! Tiny! You're like action figures!"

"Don't take us lightly!" Ladybug proudly declared, launching her yoyo and wrapping it around one of his arms.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Chat Noir cried, running toward Mandrillus with his staff brandished. Mandrillus smiled, nodding nostalgically. He grabbed the rope of the yoyo around his arm and pulled, sending Ladybug flying into the air. Then, still holding the rope, he swung her around in a wide circle over his head before slamming her into her partner, sending them both flying off the side of the building and into the street.

"Look, Ladybro, Bro Noir," Mandrillus began, slamming down on to the street in front of them. "I don't want to fight you. I got no personal vendetta against the two of you. But my other bro, Papillon? He wants your Miraculous, so."

"Ladybro?" Kim repeated, watching from the relative safety of a nearby side street. He turned to Pegasus, who was watching nervously. "Hey, is Mandrillus—"

"This is never going to work," Pegasus blurted anxiously, cutting him off. Kim sighed and tried to speak again, but was cut off as the man grabbed them and began running in the opposite direction.

"We're not going to help them?" Ondine called, startled slightly by the sudden tug.

"We are, just, not from here," Pegasus finished for him. "We need to be somewhere far enough away that I can open a portal. We need extra help."

"How about the school?" Kim suggested, trailing a bit. "I bet Mandrillus wouldn't look there."

"That's a good idea, he hates the school!" Pegasus declared. Kim groaned, which caused Pegasus to wince. "For some reason! No one knows why!"

They made their way through the streets of the city until they were far enough from the action that Pegasus was able to tear open a hole to the school. They stepped through and caught their breath, Kim and Ondine taking a seat on one of the benches in the courtyard while their escort fiddled with the machine on his wrist.

"How did you know the school would be safe, Kim?" Ondine asked, leaning against him. She took in her surroundings. She went to a different school than her boyfriend, so it was rare that she got to see the facility. He frowned and didn't answer. He was slouching with his hood up, which only served to worsen Ondine's anxiety. She put her hand on his arm and squeezed, which made him sigh and nothing more.

"Because I never liked going to school," Kim spat after several moments of tense silence. Ondine looked up at him as he rose to his feet, confronting Pegasus, who stopped pacing and blinked, nervously. Kim had always been big, and even though Pegasus was taller, he couldn't help but feel small under Kim's accusatory gaze. He swallowed nervously.

"Mandrillus is me, isn't he?" Kim asked, his words like daggers in Pegasus's heart. The weight of that information had been growing heavier since he arrived in the past and came face to face with the childhood face of his best friend. He tried his best to hide it, and his hope was that Kim would not guess, but it seemed he had underestimated the boy.

It wasn't that he wanted to keep the information from him, but he had to. The less one knew about their future, or possible future, the better. Knowledge of future events may lead one to attempt to manipulate the outcome of certain events to affect their future, which could have disastrous results. Or not. Or, potentially, it could maybe possibly have an effect on something which never didn't happen. This was his understanding from Bunnyx's hasty lecture on the consequences of fiddling with time, which he still was struggling to grasp. His main takeaway was the less impact he had, the better.

"No!" Pegasus lied. Kim stared at him, unimpressed.

"Okay, yes. And no. Kind of," he confessed, heaving a great sigh. Ondine stood from the bench and joined her boyfriend by his side. Pegasus saw the concerned look in their eyes. They were so small and naive, not at all the hardened heroes they'd both become later on. He felt sympathy for them—they'd had a long day and taken in a lot of information for two people so young.

"Technically, Mandrillus is King Monkey, akumatized, which makes him even more dangerous than if he was just you," Pegasus explained, sitting on a stair, looking down at his feet. Kim stood there, disappointed. He knew he was right, but part of him was hoping that he had been wrong. That he had more to look forward to than becoming a monstrous weapon for a madman. He felt Ondine lace her fingers through his and lean on his shoulder, but had no reaction.

"That's who I am, huh? That's who I become?" Kim muttered. Pegasus looked up at him through his shades, furrowing his brow. He hadn't seen Kim looking so despondent for a very long time. The boy's usual optimism was draining very quickly, and Pegasus had to do something.

"No, Kim, that's not who you are," he said, rising to his feet. "That's Mandrillus. You're King Monkey. You're one of the city's mightiest heroes, and, I might add, one of the more popular. Something terrible happened, something no one expected, and in a moment of weakness, you were akumatized into Mandrillus. But Mandrillus is not who you are."

He and Ondine smiled, but Kim did not respond. He slouched against a wall, hopelessly.

"I just thought I was better than that. After Dark Cupid, I thought I was strong enough never to get akumatized again," Kim murmured, reflecting on the day he nearly doomed Paris to an eternity of spite and hatefulness. "I tried to be a really good person and become super positive, you know? Stop bullying people so much. But I guess I'm still as vulnerable as ever."

"Kim!" Ondine snapped, stomping over to him. He stood at attention as she marched over to him, bringing her face close to his. Kim couldn't help but blush, although she didn't look very amorous. She was frustrated. "Vulnerability is not weakness, Kim!"

"Yeah, Kim, come on, it's, uh," Pegasus checked the device on his wrist "It's 2020, apparently. That's backwards by this year's standards."

"Pegasus, please. A moment." Ondine sighed.

"Right, yeah. Do your thing."

"You're a sensitive person, Kim. You're kind and open and have a huge heart," Ondine continued. "Maybe these things make it easier for you to be a target, but they are not weakness. They are strengths!"

"Really?" Kim said, looking up. He was a little surprised at her sudden lecture, but mostly at the concept she was trying to convey. He had never conceptualized emotions in this way. To him, strength was physical. It was power. It was being able to run fast, jump high, and lift large objects. Sure, he tried to be nice, but was kindness also a strength?

"Of course! If you were mean, and closed-minded, and uncaring, you'd be perfect bait for an akuma! Those are weaknesses! Your positivity is what protects you from them."

Kim had to admit, when put in those terms, it made a lot more sense.

"But if I'm so strong, how did I get akumatized?" Kim wondered aloud, countering Ondine's arguments. Ondine hesitated, shoulders sagging, as she searched for an answer.

"Everyone has moments of weakness, Kim," she said, after a time. She turned to Pegasus, still squeezing her boyfriend's hand. Pegasus was amusing himself with the device on his arm, trying to make it look like he wasn't paying attention, and failing. "But yeah, how did it happen, Pegasus?"

Pegasus looked up at the two of them and swallowed. He opened his mouth and made a nervous sound.

"Something really bad happened. I told you," Pegasus said, flashing a fake smile. Ondine folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, but the man was unswayed. "To say any more than that would cause this whole timeline to collapse in on itself, and time itself would be erased. Probably."

"You just made that up," Ondine accused. Pegasus shrugged and went back to fiddling with his device. She peered over, trying to get a glimpse of the screen, but he turned away from her.

"What is that thing, anyway?" she asked. "You keep fiddling with it. Is it like, a time monitor or something?"

"There's no such thing as a 'time monitor,' Ondine." Pegasus explained over his shoulder. "And this is not an 'it,' but a 'he.'"

The man spun around and proudly displayed the device on his wrist. A small, animated face appeared, smiling at them. Ondine and Kim stared at it, bewildered. It made a winking face at them and spoke.

"Greetings, tiny humans. You are right to stare, for I am one of the most advanced pieces of technology ever devised by—"

"That's enough, Mini-Mark," Pegasus cut him off. "Back to work."

The screen blinked off with a disappointed groan, and Pegasus turned to keep explaining. "His real name is Machiavelli, but I call him Mini-Mark, after his dad, Mark…"

There was silence as the two teenagers waited for him to continue.

"That's it. Just Mark. Anyway, he helps me fight crime," Pegasus continued, nervously. "Right now, he's running a very complex calculation to help me help Ladybug. He's still a teenager, so he's a little bit insufferable."

Ondine stared at him suspiciously, to which he responded by grinning insincerely and turning back to the screen. The young woman went back to her boyfriend, who was still deep in thought, and sat next to him, waiting for their next move.

About a minute later, Pegasus started talking aloud to no one in particular.

"Okay, according to Mini, I need to open a portal right around here in..." he said, not taking his eyes off the screen. Still fixed on it, he raised his arm toward the center of the courtyard and held his palm out. "...Now."

A portal opened in the middle of the school courtyard and a familiar yoyo shot through it, latching onto the handrails on the upper floor walkways. A moment later, Ladybug shot through the portal, screaming. Kim and Ondine stood up, gasping as their hero clumsily let go of her rope and crashed to the ground, rolling to a stop against one of the far walls. Pegasus rolled his eyes and complained about a miscalculation. He then opened a new portal under her, which she dropped through with a screech, landing oafishly in front of them with a thud. Kim and Ondine remained standing as she rose to her feet, getting her bearings. She looked around, dazed, spotting Kim and Ondine first.

"Kim? Ondine?" the hero wheezed, "What am I doing here? Why are you here? Where's Mandrillus? How's your relationship?"

"Told you I got advice from her," Kim whispered to Ondine, cheekily elbowing her. Ondine looked at him, impatient, and he nodded.

"All your questions will be answered, Ladybug!" Pegasus declared, triumphantly. The hero spun around and stared at the man, who was so much taller than she was that she had to lean back to look at his face. He folded his arms and grinned at her, confident that he would be recognized, and confident that Ladybug would be suitably impressed.

"Pegasus?" Ladybug leered, shocked. She took in the full sight of him—the long hair, the stubble, the extra two feet of height—and blinked a few times. Pegasus laughed and nodded, but Ladybug did not return his joviality.

"You know Pegasus?" Kim said, leaning in. Ladybug nodded.

"Of course! I gave him his Miraculous," Ladybug explained, turning to the boy. She peered at Pegasus over her shoulder. "But when I did, he wasn't, um, like this."

"It's a long story," Pegasus started, dismissing many of her very legitimate questions and concerns. "And if you really think about it, I'm sure you can piece it out for yourself."

Ladybug looked at him deeply. It wasn't the first time that she had encountered one of her friends as an adult. The last time that had happened, it was Alix Kubdel, who used the power of time travel to stop a villain from the future. If this moment was like that, then this man was no doubt the same Pegasus she knew, from later on. And if he was here, Alix must have sent him. She turned to face Kim and Ondine. They were here too, so they must fit into the puzzle somehow. Pegasus and Kim were best friends, but that couldn't be the only connection. If Pegasus truly was from the future, he would know not to get anyone mixed up in these affairs that didn't need to be. She had seen Kim once already today, when she gave him a miraculous to become King Monkey. Come to think of it, the villain she was fighting was similar in many ways to King Monkey. He had many of the same powers, and a similar outfit. Ladybug stared at Kim's face, which did not display its usual lighthearted expression.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. She turned to Pegasus, who nodded. "Oh."

"Ladybug, you need extra help on this one," Pegasus began. "Mandrillus is too powerful for you and your partner alone."

"You're offering to help us?" Ladybug exclaimed, excitedly. Having an adult miraculous user on their side increased their odds exponentially, as there was no limit to how many times they could use their powers. "It's true, Mandrillus is not going down as easy as the average villain."

"Of course I'm going to help. It's my fault he's here in the first place!" Pegasus replied. Ladybug squinted at him, confused, but he dismissed her inevitable question. "But I want to get Ondine to safety first. Take King Monkey for now, and I'll meet up with you soon."

Ladybug stared at him, anxiously.

"But King Monkey isn't here, Pegasus!" Ladybug announced, very deliberately. She felt a hand land on her shoulder and turned to see Kim.

"It's all good, Ladybro. Everyone here knows," Kim stated flatly. Ladybug groaned and stomped her foot.

"Kim, seriously? You're supposed to guard your identity with your life!"

"You told me to be more honest and open with Ondine!" Kim argued. Ladybug screamed into the sky, slapping her palm to her forehead.

"Not about that!" she rebutted.

"Kids, please, it doesn't matter!" Pegasus shouted, breaking their argument up and stepping between them. "Every moment we bicker, Mandrillus continues to wreak havoc in the city."

He turned to Ladybug and spoke in low tones, so only she could hear him. "And if all goes according to plan, none of this will have happened anyway."

Ladybug thought about this for a moment and nodded. She opened her yoyo and produced a small wooden box from inside it. Pegasus took extra care to watch her do this, as he was still studying exactly how the space inside the yoyo could contain objects bigger than the yoyo itself.

"You're lucky I still have this from earlier today, Kim," Ladybug sighed, holding out his Miraculous. Ondine watched with intense curiosity as he took the box and opened it, looking down at the circlet within. "Remember, it must be returned to me."

Kim took a long, hard look at the object in his hands and closed the lid.

"I don't know," he admitted, shaking his head. "Is this really what's best? I mean, I don't know if I can help."

"What's the matter Kim? You were ready for action this morning." Ladybug took a step toward him, concerned. He sighed.

"That thing out there. That's me. I'm the one destroying the city," Kim explained. "What if I just make things worse? Is more of 'me' what Paris needs?"

"That was ineloquent, but I think I understand what he means," Pegasus interjected, coldly. Ladybug glared at him and he shut his mouth.

"Kim."

Ondine and Ladybug had both spoken at once. Naturally, Kim turned to Ondine, who was smiling and leaning in closer. Her soft, gentle face put his heart at ease.

"Mandrillus is you. Mandrillus is the part that bullies others, and the part that closes himself off. Mandrillus is your mean streak and your inflated ego," Ondine explained, softly. Kim couldn't help but watch her eyes. "You're stronger than those parts of you."

Tenderly, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. His face flushed a beet red, and he straightened up, letting out a jovial whoop. Opening the lid to the box, he practically ripped the circlet out of it, placing it on his head. With a grin, he cracked his knuckles and beat his chest as Xuppu emerged from the circlet, dazed.

"Wow, someone's in a good mood!" the Kwami exclaimed, emerging from the headpiece. He looked around at his surroundings, before settling his eyes on Kim. "You? Again? Already? Please, I can only handle so much in one day."

Ondine gasped as she saw Xuppu erupt from his miraculous. It was, after all, her first time seeing one of these mystical creatures. She pointed at it and tried to speak, but no words came. She didn't know how to describe what she was seeing.

"Ondine, this is Xuppu," Kim explained, nonchalantly. "He's my little monkey friend that gives me superpowers. Xuppu, this is my girlfriend, Ondine."

"Girlfriend?" Xuppu exclaimed as Ondine waved nervously. He flew over to her and took a good look. "She certainly has, uh, interesting taste in men."

"Kim's a hunk!" Ondine protested. Kim beamed proudly and laughed, which made Xuppu stick out his tongue in disgust.

"You're just mad because you're single," Ondine continued. Xuppu stared in stunned silence. Slowly, he turned to Kim.

"I like her," Xuppu confessed. "She's a keeper."

Kim and Ondine blushed and Xuppu laughed. Meanwhile, Ladybug and Pegasus were left awkwardly waiting for Kim to remember that their city was in peril. After a few more jokes at Xuppu's expense (which he was fairly good natured about), Kim finally transformed into King Monkey.

"That costume, like, looks really good on you, Kim," Ondine admired. Kim flexed proudly and smiled at her, and the couple continued to make eyes at each other until Ladybug finally came between them.

"Okay, very cute, but we need to go," she declared, pushing Kim away from her. He gave her one last wave. "Pegasus, can we get a shortcut?"

"Of course, Ladybug. I'll meet up with you once I've taken Ondine to safety," Pegasus replied, opening a portal for them to leap through. Ladybug gave him a confident smile and a thumbs up, and leapt through the portal back into the action.

"Take care, Kim. Don't get hurt," Ondine bade as Kim gave her one last smile. He nodded to Pegasus, who smiled back. It had been a long time since he saw King Monkey looking this enthusiastic. The hero leapt through the portal, and it closed shut behind them, leaving Pegasus and Ondine alone in the school courtyard.

"I think I can probably make it home on my own, Pegasus," Ondine assured him, readying to go. Pegasus watched her get ready, smiling knowingly. "I wish I could do more to help them, but I'd just get in the way."

Ondine's face betrayed her sadness. She knew why it had to be this way, but she couldn't help worrying about Kim, off fighting a darker, stronger version of himself. She wanted to be there with him, aiding him in the struggle, both internal and external. But if she were present, she'd only be one more thing for him to worry about. It was better this way.

"You're not going anywhere," Pegasus said, suddenly. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, slightly worried. Was it menace she detected in his voice? Or was he just being dramatic?

"You aren't going home, I just needed to get Ladybug and King Monkey to leave us alone," the man continued. He took a step forward, producing a small object from inside his coat. He held it out for her to examine. It was a round, featureless marble box with a button on the front. Pegasus pressed the button with his thumb, and with a click, it swung open, revealing a small golden ear cuff. On the underside of the lid, a picture of two fish connected by a thread.

"You and I have a lot to discuss, Amphitrite."

* * *

"Okay!" Ladybug said, landing firmly on the roof of a building. "Mandrillus should be around here somewhere so—"

Before she could finish, she was struck by a heavy object that sent her flying backwards onto the street below her. She and the object rolled several feet before coming to a halt. As the dust settled, it was revealed that the object was, in fact, Chat Noir, who was now lying on his back underneath her. He looked up into her eyes and smiled, blushing slightly. She groaned and rolled her eyes.

"How do we always end up like this?" Ladybug moaned, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. She helped Chat Noir up and he smiled innocently.

"Usually I plan it, but this time was a surprise!" Chat Noir teased. She frowned at him, unamused, and he laughed.

"You guys cool back there?" King Monkey's voice called.

"Yeah, we're okay," they both responded.

"Great, because I'm about to get my butt kicked."

The partners both made their way back up to the roof, where they discovered King Monkey in a standoff with Mandrillus. The two stared each other down, Mandrillus displaying a wretched grin across his face. He laughed wickedly, clearly amused at the idea of fighting his younger self. King Monkey, for perhaps the first time, wore a grim mask of determination.

"So you're all here. Including you, little bro," Mandrillus taunted, his toothy grin not fading. King Monkey tightened his grip around the staff, anxiously. "You shouldn't get too attached to other people. You're just gonna get hurt."

"You're the one who's about to get hurt, Mandrillus," King Monkey responded. Mandrillus rolled his eyes.

"The sentiment is the same one way or the other, kid. We're the same person!"

Chat Noir cocked an eyebrow and looked at the two of them, then down at Ladybug. She shrugged and nodded.

"We are not the same!" King Monkey argued. "I'd never become someone like you."

"You're already someone like me, and nothing is going to change that," Mandrillus spat, coming closer to the boy. King Monkey took a hesitant step back. "Take a good look, kid. I'm your future."

Enraged, King Monkey leapt into the air and brought his staff down on the man's head. Unfazed, Mandrillus grabbed it and the boy wielding it, and gave a sharp tug, separating King Monkey from his staff. King Monkey was tossed casually aside, like so much litter, landing at his friend's feet. Maliciously, Mandrillus twirled the staff in his hands, turning to the heroes with a wide grin.

"Okay, that was my bad," King Monkey coughed, returning to his feet. Ladybug and Chat Noir poised themselves for battle as Mandrillus charged toward them.

"King Monkey," Ladybug instructed as she leapt toward mandrillus and kicked him squarely in the head, "we need you to get far enough away and hit him with your power!"

Mandrillus grabbed her by the leg and attempted to throw her off, but she had wrapped her yoyo around his arm, so he found she was stuck to him. He simply slammed his arm against the ground instead. Chat Noir smashed his staff against the beast's knee, which caused him to stumble backward and roar in pain, but otherwise had little effect.

"Once you mess up his power," Chat Noir called, dodging a punch with the arm Ladybug was still reluctantly attached to, "we should be able to use our powers!"

King Monkey made a noise of acknowledgement and leapt backwards to another rooftop.

"No you don't!" the villain screeched, pounding across the roof top after his younger self. Ladybug, who had finally gotten free, wrapped the string of her yoyo around his torso and pulled as hard as she could, her ankles dragging across the cement. Chat Noir grabbed the rope himself and joined her, and together, the two were just enough to slow him. When he jumped, rather than soaring through the air to the next rooftop, he fell clumsily to the street below, bringing the two heroes with him. They landed gracefully on his back, jumping off as he brought his arms up to grab them.

"The bigger they are, Mandrillus!" Chat Noir teased in his usual sing-song tone. Ladybug gave him a high five for that one.

"You two think you can beat me? Bro, you couldn't even beat me as adults," Mandrillus sneered. He charged toward them, but was gracefully sidestepped.

"It's our youthful exuberance that gives us an edge," Ladybug taunted as the man charged past her. She and her partner shared a laugh. The more worked up Mandrillus got, the funnier it was to egg him on. As long as his focus was on them and not King Monkey, their plan was working.

"More like youthful naivete!" Mandrillus screeched, lifting a car over his head and sending it hurtling toward them. They rolled out of the way as it went sailing past them and careening into a nearby building, where it finally came to rest. Chat Noir laughed.

"You missed!" he taunted. Mandrillus folded his arm and raised an eyebrow at the young hero, who met his gaze with confusion.

"Chat, there was someone in there!" Ladybug announced, already sprinting toward the flaming wreckage. Chat Noir let out a yelp and ran after her. By the time he caught up with her, she was pulling a woman out of the warped wreckage of the vehicle. She was beaten and unconscious, but miraculously, still breathing. The two heroes let out a sigh of relief as they carried her away from the burning vehicle to safety. They laid her down gently and turned their attention back to Mandrillus, but of course, he was no longer where they had left him. Ladybug swore under her breath.

"That was too easy," Mandrillus hissed as he landed behind the two heroes. Before either could react, he grabbed them both, wrapping them up in his arms and hoisting them over his shoulders. He let out a laugh. "You two just let me win."

"Don't let him touch your Miraculous, Chat!" Ladybug commanded. Her partner nodded and closed his hand into a tight fist. Mandrillus laughed again, leaping up on to the rooftops and jumping along in the direction King Monkey went.

"When I want your Miraculous, I'm going to take them. You can't prevent that," the villain explained, pounding across the tops of buildings toward the Pont des Arts. "But there's a lot more than just yours on the field right now. I want them all. And the best part is, I'm going to use you to get them!"

Ladybug writhed, trying desperately to wriggle free of his grasp, but it was no use. She had no choice but to endure him and his stench for the time being until an opening presented itself. She looked over at Chat Noir, who frowned at her anxiously. Summoning all her courage, she flashed a reassuring smile at him, the same smile she showed when she had a plan. The one that always let him know that things would work out, even if they both knew deep down that the future was uncertain.

Mandrillus landed with a boom at one edge of the bridge, still holding two dizzy superheroes tightly in his arms. On the other end of the bridge, Money King stood there, tightly gripping an object. The two heroes cheered for him, but King Monkey simply gazed straight ahead at his target.

"So you managed to use Uproar, huh, kid?" Mandrillus called out to him. The boy nodded. "What you got there?"

"It's one of those rubber fish," King Monkey explained, straightfaced and unenthused. "The kind that sings when you press the button."

King Monkey held it up to show them. Solemnly, he pressed the button on it, and a tinny voice rang out from inside it as it did its animatronic dance.

"_If you let go of me, you know you better not miss!" _it sang in an irritatingly cartoony voice. "_All of your lives depend on this little fish!"_

Mandrillus laughed, while his captives abandoned all hope. "I've always loved those things."

"Me too," King Monkey concurred, though he was not laughing.

"Well, kid, I'll tell you what," the man began. "You hit me with that, and it will work. I can stop you from using your power, but I can't stop it from working once you've already used it."

"Yes!" Chat Noir whispered. Mandrillus shot a look at the boy from out of the corner of his eye, then lowered him down from atop his shoulder to directly in front of his torso. Chat was much smaller than Mandrillus, but he blocked a good percentage of his frame.

"But you better aim carefully." Mandrillus continued. King Monkey swallowed in anticipation. He tightened his grip on the novelty fish, sizing up his target. He had played some baseball in his time. He knew how to throw a pitch. But the stakes had never been this high. He did his best to quell the nervous quivering in his hand.

He took a deep breath, wound up, leaned forward, and let the thing fly. In the thirty seconds that came after this single act, several things happened. King Monkey's object, the novelty singing fish, flew forward a few feet, then disappeared into a rift in space. It shot out of another portal directly over Mandrillus's head, and hit him squarely. In his surprise, he let go of Chat Noir, who leapt around and pulled on his other arm, freeing his partner. Together, they jumped away from their assailant. Meanwhile, the portal over Mandrillus closed, and a larger portal opened over the bridge itself, dumping river water in excess all over the bridge. Shortly after, it closed, and Pegasus leapt through a portal to join King Monkey by his side. Mandrillus let out a howl and charged toward them, but was interrupted. Someone, or something, rose up from underneath him and hit him in the stomach, sending him stumbling back, startled.

Everyone watched closely to see what happened next. Out of a puddle on the bridge rose the shape of a person. She had flaming red hair, pulled back into a short bun that sat neatly on her head. Her eyes were obscured by a pair of jet black goggles which made them appear more like those of a fish. She appeared to have gills on her neck, or at the very least, markings which resembled them, and wore a red bodysuit with a scaled pattern. The red of her suit slowly became darker toward her legs, fading into black, but her feet were obscured, as she was somehow standing ankle deep in a puddle that couldn't have been more than a few centimeters deep.

"You have got to be kidding me," Mandrillus hissed. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and King Monkey all stared at this new hero in their midst, who wore a confident smile as she faced the beast before her.

"You're all washed up, Mandrillus," the stranger teased. Infuriated, Mandrillus pounced. Effortlessly, she sunk back into the puddle below, leaving her enemy sprawled face down on the bridge. She emerged from a separate puddle and laughed.

"Which Miraculous is that?" Chat Noir whispered to his partner. Ladybug narrowed her eyes at the new hero, and after a moment, finally spoke.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Minutes earlier, back in the empty courtyard of the school, Ondine's eyes moved between Pegasus and the box in his hand several times. She didn't know what to say. She reached out to touch the ear cuff, but stayed her hand. Pegasus nodded, and she took the box in her hands, marvelling at the jewelry it contained.

"An extremely important person trusted me with that artifact before I left my time," Pegasus said in a low voice, "and now I entrust it to you, Ondine, on the condition that you return it to me when our mission is over."

"This is," Ondine began, not daring to utter the word.

"This is your Miraculous. The Miraculous of Pisces," Pegasus affirmed. She stared at the man before her, her head swimming with thoughts and questions. Wordlessly, she reaches out and grazed the fine metal of the accessory with her fingertips. As if reacting to her touch, there was a flash of light. Ondine pulled her hand away and when the light faded, there was a small creature floating in front of her.

"Ondine, my dear!" A melodic voice drifted up to her ears. The creature was half fish, half girl, like a mermaid out of storybooks. Its eyes were pitch black and shiny, and it smiled with a row of sharp, pointed teeth. Ondine was astounded. "Oh! You shrank."

"You're," Ondine began, reaching out a hand toward the creature. It swam through the air, landing gently in her palm. "You're a mermaid."

The creature looked up at her, confused.

"My dear, it's me! Ichthy!" The creature reminded her. Ondine looked down at the tiny being in her hand, then back up at Pegasus.

"We're in the past, Ichthy. Ondine hasn't met you yet," Pegasus explained. Ichthy looked up at him, then back at Ondine.

"Oh, that's okay." Ichthy said, swimming up to Ondine's face and pressing their cheek against hers. "Ondine is dear to me, even if she doesn't recognize me."

"I have a lot of questions," Ondine announced, flatly, as Ichthy swam in circles around her, singing a nursery rhyme. Pegasus chuckled and nodded.

"I bet you do!" he replied, sitting on a stair. "But I can't answer most of them, so I'll just tell you everything I can."

Ondine nodded as Ichthy settled down to rest on top of her head.

"Originally, we thought there were only nineteen Miraculous in the world." Pegasus began, "One for each chinese zodiac, plus a few very special ones, like the Ladybug and Cat."

Ondine nodded, mouth agape. Nineteen! She thought that was already an absurdly high number for these things. And they were just out there, somewhere? It all seemed a little precarious.

"We thought that was all there were. We were wrong. In my time, we recently discovered a few more, which seem to correspond to the Western zodiac. Including the one you're holding," Pegasus continued. "Have you ever seen Saint Seiya?"

Ondine shook her head slowly.

"It's an anim—" He paused. "Actually, that doesn't matter right now. The Miraculous you have now is the Miraculous of Pisces. That Kwami lives inside it, and gives you powers when it enters the Miraculous while you're wearing it. As long as you know the incantation."

Ondine looked up at Ichthy who was peering over the top of her head and smiling. She smiled nervously.

"So what is a Kwami, exactly?" Ondine asked, not taking her eye off of Ichthy.

"A Kwami is the embodiment of an abstract concept," Pegasus explained. "Like creation, or protection. They're ideas that don't really have a concrete form, and don't really fit into a category. Like emotions? What are they? They're emotions. It's abstract!"

Ondine stared at the man.

"Put simply, Ichthy is the idea of generosity, if it were a living creature."

Ichthy smiled again and rubbed their face against Ondine's, which made her chuckle slightly.

"They're very cuddly," Ondine noted. Ichthy laughed and grinned their usual gentle smile.

"Yeah, you're lucky you didn't get stuck with Xuppu," Pegasus mused.

"I can transform you into a super powerful hero, Ondine!" the kwami sang, swimming jubilantly around Ondine. "But you have to wear my Miraculous first!"

Ondine nodded and removed the ear cuff, slipping it over the top of her ear. Ichthy laughed and swirled around the girl, celebrating. "Still a perfect fit!"

"Now, dear Ondine, before we go, I must tell you," Ichthy began, swimming along the length of Ondine's arm. "I'm not like other Kwamis."

"That's right," Pegasus said, snapping his finger. "Ichthy and the other Western Miraculous work a little differently."

"What do you mean?" Ondine asked, watching her kwami dance through the air.

"I'm very strong!" Ichthy declared proudly.

"They're very strong, but there's a drawback," Pegasus interrupted, causing Ichthy to frown. "Take me, for example. I can stay transformed as long as I want, and use my one power, Voyage, to open portals."

Ondine nodded.

"But yours, Ondine, is different. You'll get many powers, as opposed to my one, but you will always be on a time limit. And given that you're still adolescent, you'll have even less time than you normally would."

Ondine looked down at the Kwami, which flashed an apologetic frown at her. Sympathetically, the girl stroked the top of their head with her finger.

"Is this the only one like that?" Ondine asked.

"Well, we haven't found many from this set yet, so there's no way to say for certain," Pegasus explained, "But we know the Miraculous of Gemini works very similarly to yours, so it's safe to assume the Western Miraculous are all like this."

"We're a very fickle bunch!" Ichthy admitted, coyly. Ondine laughed quietly.

"So I have a limited time once I transform?" Ondine asked, still staring down at the creature in her hand, "How long? How will I know when I'm running out of time?"

"I'll let you know!" Ichthy announced.

"Yeah, you'll hear a beep. It's annoying—I don't miss it," Pegasus added. "Now, I know this goes without saying, but it is imperative that you let no one discover your true identity. That includes Kim."

"I can trust Kim," Ondine argued. "He trusted me."

"No. Kim is a great guy. But he's terrible at keeping secrets," Pegasus replied. "Because he trusted you with his secret today, you will trust him with yours later on in the future. He almost immediately let it slip to someone else, because he's enthusiastic like that, and before long, the whole city knew. Something terrible happened to you because of this, and now Mandrillus is on a rampage through time."

Ondine stared at the man, who had suddenly become very serious. She felt an odd tightness in her chest that caused no shortage of discomfort. Quietly, she spoke. "So, I can't trust Kim?"

"Kim is your partner, Ondine, dear!" Ichthy chirped from below. They swam up to eye level and smiled warmly. "You can trust him! You can trust him with your life, and with your heart! But some secrets, we keep to protect those we care for, not because we don't trust them."

Ondine took one last look at the kwami, and at Pegasus before her. Her head was still swimming with questions and concerns that nagged at her. But Ichthy's words had resonated with her, and inspired a hopefulness that relieved some of the pressure she felt. She took a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's do it," the girl said. Ichthy gave a delighted squeal and flew up to Ondine's ear, whispering, as Pegasus looked on, pleased.

"Really? Just like that?" Ondine responded to Ichthy's inaudible instructions. They nodded in turn. "Okay,"

"Now, we will be on a very strict time crunch once you've transformed," Pegasus reminded her. "I have a plan, but you'll have to follow it exactly. No time for mistakes, no time for practice runs."

Ondine and Ichthy nodded intently.

"Ichthy, make a splash!"

There was a flash of pale blue green light that Pegasus would have had to shield his eyes from had sunglasses not been an inherent part of his costume. When the light had settled, there stood Amphitrite, the hero who ruled the waters. She looked down at herself, at the costume she was now in. Her heart was beating faster in anticipation. She felt good! Really good! She felt strong and healthy and powerful. She spun around to get a better look at herself. The suit was great, and fit like a glove, and was she wearing goggles? Even the colors matched the swimsuit she normally wore. It was perfect.

"Wow! Ichthy, this is amazing!" Amphitrite declared. She did not receive a response. "Ichthy? Where are they?"

"They're in the Miraculous, giving you your powers. But don't worry. They're still with you," Pegasus explained, confidently. He stood tapped the screen of his device a few times. "Okay, clock is ticking. I don't know how much time we have, but it isn't much."

"So what do we do?" Amphitrite asked, "What can I do?"

"Mini-Mark is putting together a plan for us. I'm not super familiar with your powers, but I know for one thing that you can warp between any pool of water," Pegasus explained, looking around the courtyard. His eyes settled on a restroom door, which he entered after telling Amphitrite to stay put. A few moments later he emerged with some water cupped in his hands and spilled it on the ground in front of her. "That should be enough."

"That's, like, not even an ounce," Amphitrite pointed out, dismayed. Pegasus dismissed her with a wave of his hand and looked back down at his screen.

"What should I call myself? Like, what's my superhero name?" the girl asked. Pegasus was distracted with his screen, formulating his plan. "What about The Mysterious Water Lily?"

Pegasus looked up from his screen at that. There was a look of utter confusion on his face.

"The Mysterious water—what?" Pegasus asked, incredulous. He looked back down to his screen. "You call yourself Amphitrite."

"Like the goddess? That's a little vain," the younger hero muttered.

"Well, you're already named after one Greek myth. It's in keeping with the theme," Pegasus pointed out. Ondine considered this, shrugged, and nodded.

"Hey, so are you!" she realized. He looked up at her. "Pegasus! That's, like, a Greek thing!"

"I kind of have to focus here, kid," Pegasus reprimanded her. She was quiet.

There were a few moments of silence as Pegasus hurriedly worked with Mini-Mark, and then he stood.

"You ready?" he asked. She nodded. "As soon as you hear that beeping, you come straight back here. Otherwise, here's the plan."

* * *

Amphitrite stood on the bridge, boldly facing Mandrillus, who snarled in frustration. Behind him, Ladybug and Chat Noir, the famous heroes of Paris, who only grew stronger every day. Behind Amphitrite, King Monkey, who had just taken away his greatest advantage, and Pegasus, whose tactical genius gave them all a distinct upper hand.

"You are making a mistake," Mandrillus hissed. He approached Amphitrite and spoke in a hushed tone. "I am doing this for you. I am saving you!"

Amphitrite narrowed her eyes at him. She was not impressed, and she showed it clearly by the disgusted expression on her face.

"Don't use me as an excuse for your awful behavior!" she spat. The man grinded his teeth and made a noise that sounded equal parts desperate and enraged. He slammed his fists together, and beat his chest with a howl. With one last grunt, he leapt toward her, winding up for a mighty punch. At the last second, she melted away into the water underfoot, leaving him stumbling toward King Monkey clumsily. The mischievous hero stuck out a leg, which tripped Mandrillus over, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Everyone in his company found this very amusing.

"All of us against him, Milady," Chat Noir purred. "I'd say it's time we ended this."

"Right you are, Chaton," Ladybug replied. "Lucky Charm!"

While the others amused themselves with Mandrillus, Ladybug stood at a safe distance, trying to conduct a plan for the parasol that had just fallen into her hands. She knew what it was trying to tell her, or rather, who it was trying to tell her about, but she needed to make sure the time was right before she made her move. She had to deakumatize Mandrillus first, then she could use her charm for its intended purpose. She looked up at the others, still fighting the villain, and came up with the beginnings of a plan.

"Pegasus!" she called, pulling the man aside. Startled, he stumbled over to the young heroine, who was watching the fighting closely. "Where's his Akuma?"

"In his circlet!" Pegasus shouted with an unnecessary urgency that was the result of Ladybug startling him.

"Tell Amphitrite to throw something big at him!" Ladybug instructed, dashing off. Pegasus watched her go, still a little shaken. It was astounding how little she would change in all the years between his time and hers. She always was a natural-born leader.

Ladybug leapt up on Mandrillus's shoulders, causing him to immediately reach up and try to grab her. She opened the Parasol she had summoned in front of his face, which did nothing to distract him, but did obscure his view for a few short, precious moments. He yanked Ladybug away, tossing her aside and unblocking his sight. He looked up just in time to see his younger self soaring through the air on a collision course with him. King Monkey was surrounded by a bubble of water, as Amphitrite had used her hydrokinesis (a power she had discovered only seconds before) to pick him up and launch him toward her enemy. Mandrillus braced himself for an assault from the front, but was instead hit from behind, as King Monkey soared through a portal made by Pegasus and emerged on the other side. Mandrillus was flattened by the impact, landing face down on the ground. King Monkey stood on his back, hollering and beating his chest. His girlfriend couldn't help but laugh.

Ladybug knelt before him and gently removed his crown, a smug smile crossing her face. Defeated, their enemy groaned, but could do nothing to resist as he watched the hero snap the object in half. King Monkey hopped off his adversary's back as he was enveloped in a chrysalis of black ichor. When it had cleared, for a brief moment, King Monkey saw another version himself lying where Mandrillus had been, in the same costume and all, but in an instant, this too melted away, leaving an adult Le Chien Kim lying on the Pont des Arts, confused and lost.

"Oh, weird," King Monkey said, kneeling next to his older alter-ego. Without hesitation, he reached out and poked his older self, who looked up at him, unsure what to make of what he was seeing.

"Hey, stop touching yourself!" Pegasus berated, eliciting a wide range of reactions from the teenagers on the bridge. "You could end all of time."

"Pegasus?" the older Kim said, looking over. "Me? Bro, what?"

"Hey buddy," Pegasus called, keeping a safe distance. "It's been a weird one, bro."

Kim got to his feet and looked around. He was standing in front of his younger self, which was already sabotaging his attempt to orient himself in time and space. Pegasus was there, looking how he was supposed to look, but why was everyone else younger?

"Did I turn into a villain that turns everyone into a baby, and then also clone myself, and then turn that clone into a baby?" Kim asked, aloud, to anyone who would listen. Pegasus stared.

"Bro, we time traveled," Pegasus said. "You are literally friends with a time traveler, how is that not the first place your mind went to?"

"Speaking of," Ladybug began, handing the parasol off to Pegasus, "we could use her help fixing all this."

"Been here the whole time," Bunnyx said, stepping out of her burrow in time. Ladybug smiled and hugged her friend, whom she had not seen in either a short time or long time, depending on her perspective, and Bunnyx hugged her back. "I mean, not _here _here. But like, you know. Here."

"Bunnyx," Chat Noir began, walking over to the group. "Where should Ladybug throw her charm to fix all this?"

"You mean when?"

"Right, when. Now, or in the future?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Ah, of course," Chat Noir responded, smugly folding his arms and smiling. A moment passed. "Wait, why?"

"Well, simply put," Bunnyx began, "the plan is to make it so none of this ever happens in the first place."

"What?" Amphitrite suddenly spoke. She had been watching the Kims interact in a variety of ways that endangered the fabric of reality, but these words spurred her into speaking. She ran over to the group, which grabbed the attention of the older of the two Kims.

"You can't!" She pleaded with Bunnyx, who looked down at her unnerved. It was like speaking to a ghost. "I've learned so much and this day has been so incredible, it can't just go away!"

"Amphitrite?" Kim asked, approaching her. She turned and faced him. "You're here?"

"Well, of course! Why would I," She stopped and touched a hand to her ear. There was an obnoxious beeping noise that made her ears hurt. She groaned.

"I have to go, but please," she turned back to Bunnyx, "I don't want to forget."

With those words, she ran and dove off the bridge into the water below. Kim called after her, but she was already gone. King Monkey noted to the others that, whoever that was, her diving form was really impressive, but his words fell upon deaf ears.

"We can save her," Kim said to Bunnyx. "If there's a shot, we have to take it."

"Absolutely, we have to go back and make it so none of it happens," Pegasus agreed. Bunnyx nodded. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, lost. It was King Monkey, however, that finally asked the question.

"Can someone fill me in here? What are we fixing?" King Monkey asked. The adults looked at him.

"I sent Pegasus back here to undo a mistake that you made," Bunnyx explained with a sigh. Kim and King Monkey both looked down in shame. "But I didn't send him back far enough, and, inadvertently, I sent Mandrillus back with him. See, this is why you don't go messing with the flow of time for selfish reasons."

"Now we're going back to stop you from ever making that mistake in the first place," Pegasus continued for her. "This way, we put time back on its correct course. Mandrillus will never happen, a friend of ours will be okay, and everything will work out."

"I know it's weird, kid," Kim began, putting a hand on his younger self's shoulder, which caused Bunnyx to flinch. "But trust us. This is important. You'll understand."

"But what did I do? How did I cause this?" King Monkey asked, still so confused. Bunnyx groaned impatiently.

"You didn't keep your secret," Bunnyx reminded him. "Which means, later on, you'll learn another secret, and you won't keep that either, and that's gonna be a whole thing, and basically, shut up and let us mess with time like responsible adults."

King Monkey thought about this. It was true, he had let a secret slip. He had told Ondine his secret identity. He had been instructed to be open and honest with her, and so that's precisely what he did. Later on, he would be given another secret to keep, and apparently, fail to keep it. Which was not unreasonable in his mind. He did not know the circumstances, but whatever it was, he probably had a good reason to do so. But then, it was not he who made that mistake. It was the other Kim. The older Kim. But now the older Kim was here, explaining the mistake he had made to himself in the past, before the mistake was made. Which means that the older Kim already didn't make the mistake, by telling the younger Kim not to make the same mistake, which he was already unaware he wouldn't make. Kim got lost down a rabbit hole of temporal conundrum and stared out into the distance for some time.

"Buddy?" his older self said, waving a hand in his face. "You good?"

King Monkey looked up at him, then at Bunnyx. He stared blankly for a moment and everyone stared back.

"I think he's broken," Bunnyx said with a chuckle.

"Hey, Rabbit," King Monkey finally chirped up. She was clearly annoyed by that nickname, but Kim didn't know her real name, and even if he did, he was doubling down on this.

"Do you want to make a bet?" he continued. Bunnyx rolled her eyes.

"You never change," she said.

"What do you mean? We know each other?"

"No, shut up, say what you were going to say."

"How can I shut up and say what I was going to say at the same time?"

"He's got you there," Pegasus pointed out. He and Kim gave each other a high five, and Bunnyx shot them the foulest look.

"I bet if you went back to your own time, everything would be fine," King Monkey wagered. The time traveler looked down at him, curious.

"Why?" Bunnyx asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, because now I know not to do what he did," King Monkey explained, pointing to his older self. "And I've just decided that I won't."

Pegasus stared at the young man, who, for once, presented a truly sound argument.

"So by going back in the past to fix a mistake that your younger self made," Pegasus began, laying out his understanding of the flow of time.

"We fixed my mistake in the future, not the past!" Kim finished, clapping his hands and laughing. Bunnyx looked at the three boys, unconvinced.

"Kim, who's Amphitrite?" Bunnyx asked.

"Well, she's…" He began, but he didn't finish. His words trailed off. "I don't know. She never told me."

"But she did tell you," Bunnyx corrected him. "Then you bragged about it to twelve of your closest friends, including me."

"I don't remember that," Kim replied.

"Because she never told you in the first place!" Pegasus exclaimed, jubilant. "Because I told her what would happen if she told someone, so she never did! Or, I should say, she never does."

Bunnyx crossed her arms. The three of them stood, waiting for the traveler to pass judgement.

"You guys," she began, annoyed. "We three exist in the timeline where whatever happened, which, by the way, I can't remember, did in fact happen. Because a few minutes ago, you were akumatized."

Kim nodded in agreement.

"But by messing with the past, we created a new timeline, where it never happened."

Pegasus and Kim both nodded in understanding.

"So we need to get back in my burrow. Because the three of us don't exist anymore."

"Woah! What?" Pegasus exclaimed. He and his friend exchanged terrified glances.

"Oh don't be nerds. I get wiped out of existence all the time. You won't even notice it," said Bunnyx, to her two existentially threatened comrades. King Monkey looked up at them, terrified.

"You guys won't exist any more? Like ever?" he said, panicking. Bunnyx rolled her eyes.

"Of course we will. Just not this version of us," she explained. "You'll still exist, and you'll grow up into you. And somewhere in Paris, Mini-Me and Mini-Pegasus are both out there, and they'll grow up into us. Time just has a way of working out like that."

"I don't get it," Kim and King Monkey said in unison. Bunnyx offered no further explanations. If they didn't understand now, they never would.

"Hey, I need to go, can I throw this umbrella already?" Ladybug spoke. The three of them turned to her. They had forgotten about both of them, standing there, watching them bicker about the laws of time. Bunnyx nodded, and she did so, chanting the incantation that undid all the damage that Mandrillus had caused, whether or not he ever existed in the first place. Sighing, she handed Kim back his Miraculous, now intact.

"King Monkey," she began, holding out her hand. He detransformed, shared a few dismayed words with Xuppu, and handed his circlet to her.

"Can I ever be King Monkey again?" Young Kim asked, disheartened. "I mean, I know I let you down, but—"

"Probably not, Kim," Ladybug cut him off. "For your own safety, it's better if you stay Kim."

She looked at his face. He was sad, but he understood. Then she looked at his older self's face. He was just sad. She sighed.

"But maybe one day."

Kim smiled, and he and his older self high fived in celebration. Together with Chat Noir, Ladybug took her leave, trusting Bunnyx to fix any remaining time related issues.

"You know your way home, Little Bro?" the eldest Kim asked his younger self. He nodded. They gave each other one last fist bump.

"I can't believe I'm gonna be this cool when I grow up," Kim said as he watched himself enter the burrow.

"You're already this cool. You're going to be way cooler than I ever was," Kim replied. Kim smiled at Kim as Kim retreated into the burrow, disappearing from Kim's sight.

Pegasus smiled and nodded at his young friend, and turned to take his leave.

"Wait!" Kim urged, grabbing his arm. Pegasus jerked to a stop and turned to him. "Do I know you? Like, in this time? You seem so familiar."

Pegasus looked at the young man, then over at Bunnyx, who was wide eyed and vigorously shaking her head. He sighed.

"Nah. Kid me lives in Cannes, so I doubt we'd ever met," he said, though it hurt to lie to his current and future best friend. "But uh, you know. I'm sure you've got great friends as it is. Never let them go, and they'll stick with you for the rest of time."

With that, Pegasus and Bunnyx hopped into the burrow, and left Kim standing once again alone, on the bridge where his long day had begun. He stood there for some time, looking at the empty spot where the time travelers had vanished. Then his vision shifted to the river beyond. The sun was setting, dyeing the water a beautiful orange color. He leaned on the railing, thinking over the day's events, trying to make sense of the things he'd learned and seen

* * *

Ondine was sitting on a bench in the school courtyard, knees pulled up to her chest, chatting with Ichthy. She was telling them all about the amazing things she had seen and learned, in case she woke up tomorrow in a world where none of it happened. Ichthy was happily sitting on her knee, when the burrow opened in front of her. Pegasus stepped out of it.

"Hey," he greeted, somberly. She looked at him, then back at her Kwami, sadly. When she didn't respond, Pegasus took a seat next to her on the bench.

"I need to take it back, Ondine," he said, his voice tinted with regret. She nodded, understanding, and removed the ear cuff from her ear. She looked down at it, then up to Ichthy, who smiled gently.

"My dear Ondine," they said, "never fear. We'll see each other again sooner than you know."

Ondine smiled, and pulled Ichthy close to her chest. Pegasus gave them a moment. After a while, the girl handed her Miraculous over to him, sniffling slightly.

"You were awesome today, Ondine. You really kicked butt," Pegasus assured, trying his best to cheer her up. She didn't respond.

"Want to hear something cool? I'm actually on the bridge right now, saying goodbye to Kim," he said, nudging her with his elbow. "Time travel, am I right?"

She nodded, but did nothing more. He sighed.

"Listen, Ondine," he began, leaning forward. "You're going to remember everything. We're not taking your past away."

Ondine looked up at him.

"You have to swear never to tell a living soul about your identity. That is the only stipulation."

Ondine nodded emphatically. "I already told myself I wouldn't, when you told me what happened!"

"I know, and because of that, it never happens. So, problem solved."

Ondine stared at him, her smile fading more each moment that passed.

"I don't get it."

Pegasus laughed.

"I don't either. For once in my life, I really have no idea how it all works," he admitted. He stood up and prepared to leave.

"Will I see you again?" Ondine asked as he walked back toward the burrow. He turned around.

"Yeah, Kim introduces us," he said, nonchalantly, "But when? A week from now? A year? Who knows."

He turned back toward the burrow. "The future is apparently not set in stone."

With those parting words, he disappeared through time and space. Ondine sat there for a moment, thinking about this. She stood and fished out her phone, placing a call to her boyfriend.

A few moments later, she was crossing the bridge toward him. They had been on the phone the whole time, talking through the day's events, both of them omitting certain events the other couldn't know. Some secrets were necessary. She joined him, leaning on the railing over the Seine. They watched the water flow, watched boats drift lazily along, and chatted about their unusual day.

"Hey Kim," said Ondine, looking out over the water. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"Yeah?"

"You know how you want me to be open with you?"

"Yeah."

They stood in silence for a moment longer.

"I have a secret," she continued.

"Oh yeah?" He replied, smiling. He looked down at her, smiling. Whatever her secret was, it was safe with him.

"Yeah. I think I love you."

"Huh," he said, turning back to the water. She leaned against him and breathed a deep sigh of relief. That took a lot more courage than she expected.

"You know what? I think I feel the same," he replied.

He walked her home that night, kissing her on the cheek before he left. The next day at school, he told his friend Max all about the adventure he had the day before, and the amazing hero he met. Max seemed more confused than excited. Later that day, Kim introduced his best friend to Ondine, who greeted him with warmth and familiarity. The two hit it off very well. They didn't know what the future held in store for them, no one does. But they both had a lot to look forward to, and that was enough for them.

* * *

**Hello again! Scrap here. This was a long one, huh? Thanks for sticking in there. I appreciate it. If you liked it, please review. If you didn't, review anyway! That's what they are for.**

**hey, want some behind the scenes info? Cool. The original cut of this was about one third the length. Originally, it ended right after Kim and Ondine walk off, just before Pegasus shows up. But I had so much fun writing the jocks, that I had to continue. So if it seems a little jarring, that's why. Another Fun Fact! I wrote most of this at my desk at work. Nothing steams a corporation like exercising creativity on their dime!**


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